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Postcard Killers
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Many people are curious as to why thriller writer James Patterson feels obliged to write so many novels in tandem with other (less well-known) writers. After all, runs the argument, Patterson is so comfortably ahead of most of his rivals in both sales and popular acclaim that it is a mystery as to why he feels the need to dilute the Patterson brand any further. Of course, a part of this reaction against the co-authored Patterson novels is due to a feeling that while Patterson's name may be in the larger font on the jacket, it may be his co-author who has done more of the work. This is not the place to debate such arguments, but with the appearance of Postcard Killers, a new element has been introduced into the mix. In this case, Patterson's co-author is not a writer-for-hire with whom the reader may not be very familiar, but a considerable novelist in her own right -- the talented Swedish writer Liza Marklund, already celebrated for her own highly individual novels (which are, in fact, quite unlike those of James Patterson). So what results have this ill assorted duo come up with in their first collaboration?
Jacob Kanon is a New York detective who has decided to take the grand tour; but for different reasons from most people. As he visits some of Europe's most beautiful and historic cities, his response is very different to that of the average tourist. Everything Jacob sees is refracted through a dark search; he is looking through the eyes of the murderer of his daughter, Kimmy, who was killed with her fiancée in Rome. Jacob is aware that other murders have followed this, all involving young couples in such cities as Salzburg, Athens, Madrid and Paris. The one element that connects the various killings is a postcard sent to a local newspaper. It's up to the New York detective to join forces with a Swedish journalist, Dessie Larsson -- in receipt of a postcard from Stockholm -- before more couples die.
The partnership in the novel here -- between an American and a Swede -- is obviously echoed in the literary partnership that produced the book itself. Interestingly, while reading Postcard Killers, it is not always clear cut where Patterson ends and Marklund begins -- perhaps a deliberate strategy on the part of the co-authors. Certainly, the book is markedly different from most portmanteau Patterson novels, though some Marklund fans may wish that she had more of a marked input into the novel. But perhaps the principal market here will be admirers of James Patterson, and they are likely to feel that they have got their money's worth. --Barry Forshaw
Book Description
James Patterson teams up with international number one bestselling author Liza Marklund to create the most terrifying holiday thriller ever written
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
26 of 29 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
James Patterson seems to continually disappoint me these days. It's bad enough that I hated his last two books, but this one is only marginally better. Many people are die hard Patterson fans and until quite recently I would have also put myself in that category. Unfortunately, I am now becoming very cynical when it comes to any book he has co-written.
This particular book I was actually looking forward to due to many reasons. The first is that he has never co-written with author before; and secondly because Lisa Marklund is a successful author in her own right. Once again I have been let down.
The story itself sounded pretty good from the bog standard jacket info. NYPD Detective Jacob Kanon is on a tour of some of the most famous European cities. However, his reasons for the tour are not what you imagine. His daughter Kimmy was brutally murdered along with her fiancé while visiting Rome. Since then other couples have been found murdered in many other cities. There seem to be no connections except for a postcard that is sent to a local newspaper prior to each of the murders. Jacob feels that he has to track the killers down to find himself some peach and the only way to do that is team up with Dessie Larson, a reporter that received a postcard in Stockholm.
The first few chapters are pretty good with non stop action from the killer and the detectives. Gruesome crime scenes and the police scratching their head is the general theme of the story in the beginning. This book actually had the potential to be really good.
Sadly, both Lisa Marklund and James Patterson got bored around halfway through this book and decided to slow the pace and the storyline at the same time. The story itself was okay, but it seemed to become more lacklustre the further into the book you got.
The main character Jacob was not the strongest character I have read, but by no means the worst either. The relationship between Jacob and Dessie was also a bone of contention for me as it was very unbelievable and stilted.
Besides Jacob and Dessie, the only other characters that the reader is drawn to, is that of the killers. The killers were so mentally unbalanced it was laughable. There was nothing like the connection you feel to characters when reading a Cross novel. This is one of the major factors that is turning me rapidly into a Patterson turncoat.
I still pray that when the next Cross novel is released by Mr Patterson alone that I will take back all my words of criticism and be a number one fan again. I think that overall Patterson fans want just that, Patterson and Patterson alone. Leave the co-writing alone for a while!
This particular book I was actually looking forward to due to many reasons. The first is that he has never co-written with author before; and secondly because Lisa Marklund is a successful author in her own right. Once again I have been let down.
The story itself sounded pretty good from the bog standard jacket info. NYPD Detective Jacob Kanon is on a tour of some of the most famous European cities. However, his reasons for the tour are not what you imagine. His daughter Kimmy was brutally murdered along with her fiancé while visiting Rome. Since then other couples have been found murdered in many other cities. There seem to be no connections except for a postcard that is sent to a local newspaper prior to each of the murders. Jacob feels that he has to track the killers down to find himself some peach and the only way to do that is team up with Dessie Larson, a reporter that received a postcard in Stockholm.
The first few chapters are pretty good with non stop action from the killer and the detectives. Gruesome crime scenes and the police scratching their head is the general theme of the story in the beginning. This book actually had the potential to be really good.
Sadly, both Lisa Marklund and James Patterson got bored around halfway through this book and decided to slow the pace and the storyline at the same time. The story itself was okay, but it seemed to become more lacklustre the further into the book you got.
The main character Jacob was not the strongest character I have read, but by no means the worst either. The relationship between Jacob and Dessie was also a bone of contention for me as it was very unbelievable and stilted.
Besides Jacob and Dessie, the only other characters that the reader is drawn to, is that of the killers. The killers were so mentally unbalanced it was laughable. There was nothing like the connection you feel to characters when reading a Cross novel. This is one of the major factors that is turning me rapidly into a Patterson turncoat.
I still pray that when the next Cross novel is released by Mr Patterson alone that I will take back all my words of criticism and be a number one fan again. I think that overall Patterson fans want just that, Patterson and Patterson alone. Leave the co-writing alone for a while!
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I have just finished reading this book 'Postcard Killers' and can honestly say I enjoyed it!
Have read a few of James Patterson's book in the past so was looking foward to this one as have never been let down in previous books, you know what you are going to get...... a good read with a thrill.
Here he has teamed up with Liza Marklund and you get two slants on the story in my opinion (one where the female elements come into play, the other the more cut and thrust of the investigation and a lot more bloody). Either way together you get a good read.
If you don't like blood and gore this is not one for you as some the chapters are graphic but saying that sometimes you have to have that element as that is what makes the story.
One thing for sure postcards will never have the same meaning after reading this book.
Have read a few of James Patterson's book in the past so was looking foward to this one as have never been let down in previous books, you know what you are going to get...... a good read with a thrill.
Here he has teamed up with Liza Marklund and you get two slants on the story in my opinion (one where the female elements come into play, the other the more cut and thrust of the investigation and a lot more bloody). Either way together you get a good read.
If you don't like blood and gore this is not one for you as some the chapters are graphic but saying that sometimes you have to have that element as that is what makes the story.
One thing for sure postcards will never have the same meaning after reading this book.
19 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
James Patterson's latest thriller has him teamed up with a bestselling author from overseas, Swedish writer Liza Marklund. It's about two attractive killers who persuade young travelling couples to go back to their hotels and then they kill them. Before this happens they send a postcard to the press to let them know what is going to happen and then afterwards they send the same unfortunate reporter a photograph of the killing. On the case is Jacob Kanon, a cop from the US whose daughter was murdered by these Postcard Killers a few months before. He teams up with Swedish reporter Dessie Larsson who received the postcard for the latest killing.
Like the previous reviewer stated, this is like a book of two halves - the first being extremely tense and fast-paced whereas the second was dragged out, slow and felt a bit like the story was continuing for the sake of it. This is a shame as it was a fantastic first 200 pages or so and I read them in just one sitting. The next 200 pages however took me 3 days as I found it hard to get back into the story and it really failed to grip me.
The characters are actually ok. Jacob is heartbroken by the death of his daughter and struggles with working with the Swedish police and their different ways of following the law and Dessie is thrown out of her comfort zone, being normally a reporter on bulglaries but now stuck in the middle of one of Europe's biggest murder cases. The killers are quite annoying, being a little too unrealistic for my liking. Knowing who they are from the opening chapter also takes away the surprise element of revealing them at the end as you already know who they are.
I think this book is ok - it's not great but it's not bad either. I'd maybe wait and pick this up from the library or borrow it from a friend rather than purchase it as I can't imagine it would be one you'd ever have any desire to read again but is worth a read once if there's nothing better for you to read on your shelf.
Like the previous reviewer stated, this is like a book of two halves - the first being extremely tense and fast-paced whereas the second was dragged out, slow and felt a bit like the story was continuing for the sake of it. This is a shame as it was a fantastic first 200 pages or so and I read them in just one sitting. The next 200 pages however took me 3 days as I found it hard to get back into the story and it really failed to grip me.
The characters are actually ok. Jacob is heartbroken by the death of his daughter and struggles with working with the Swedish police and their different ways of following the law and Dessie is thrown out of her comfort zone, being normally a reporter on bulglaries but now stuck in the middle of one of Europe's biggest murder cases. The killers are quite annoying, being a little too unrealistic for my liking. Knowing who they are from the opening chapter also takes away the surprise element of revealing them at the end as you already know who they are.
I think this book is ok - it's not great but it's not bad either. I'd maybe wait and pick this up from the library or borrow it from a friend rather than purchase it as I can't imagine it would be one you'd ever have any desire to read again but is worth a read once if there's nothing better for you to read on your shelf.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
There's nothing like a good thriller ...
and this is nothing like a good thriller. I bought this to read on holiday and regretted it from almost the first chapter. Read more
Published 3 months ago by pliget
Typical Patterson stuff
Never a fan of Patterson, I thought I'd give it a shot seeing that he had paired up with Liza Marklund. Read more
Published 4 months ago by thore
The return of Patterson
I have been somewhat disappointed with the last few of his books I have read and had some reservations when I picked this book to buy and read. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Thomas Page
A not-very-thrilling thriller.
It always amuses me how quickly JP churns out his books and just how short his chapters are actually getting! Read more
Published 6 months ago by Nicola F (Nic)
Pacey yet predictable
Postcard Killers is a flawed diamond. On one hand Patterson and Marklund invent some great killers and their path of violence and chaos is certainly entertaining to follow. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Mr. G. Battle
Bland to the point of offensive
This book was a huge disappointment, especially from two established authors.
The characters are wooden, with little effort to develop the two main characters. Read more
The characters are wooden, with little effort to develop the two main characters. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Dave
my first patterson but not the last
this is an excellent book for who dunnit fans. It seemeed to be a run of the mill murder mysteries at first but it is really a very exciting read.
Published 7 months ago by rose
good-but want more.
Decent enough story that keeps you guessing. A few nice twists and turns. Not the heaviest book he has ever co-written but still a typically fast-paced read, some bloody murders... Read more
Published 7 months ago by andywalter
The first ever book I haven't wanted to read to the end!
I am an avid reader and during holidays can read a book a day. Generally there is something within a book that can redeem it. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Bean15
Postcard Killers
Another good book, written in typical Patterson style keeping you wanting more and to race to the end to find the twist. Recommended read.
Published 7 months ago by Ms. J. West
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